Treatment Update

pamtriggs · January 2002

Hi everyone.
A very belated Happy New Year to all of you who have been my support & friends for so long now (18 months on line). I am currently undergoing Taxotere & it has not been a happy experience for me. After the 1st one (13 December) I was bed ridden from the 3rd day. I have never felt so ill in life. I could not even roll over. I was zonked out on morphine to try to get even a little respite. I had to have 24 hour care from family as I had to be carried to the toilet. Eventually the hospital gave me more steroids & I slowly improved. I was ready to quit as I didn't think I could go through that again but others persuaded me to try again & isn't the spirit a wonderful thing. Once I had come out of the shadow I knew I could go on. What's the alternative. Death! & I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet. So I went back for more last week & they changed dosages & back up treatment & gave me a second Aredia infusion as well (5 hours on drip that day as they had never done the two together before & kept saline flushing to be sure). I came throgh this better though I was bad with stomach cramps last night & bleeding piles & mouth ulcers (yes I took ice during infusion but it hasn't helped. any other suggestions for help there would be most appreciated.) Also my CA 153 levels are the highest ever (220 now) & I must admit to getting worried that I am not responding to treatment.

Well enough about my woes. At least it is summer here & the weather is at last improving. I hope you in North America are not suffering under too much snow & ice.

May you all have the most amazing New Year and let's all pray for that elusive cure that is going to let us get on with our lives again.
You are all so important to me & I just wanted to let you know how much your support means when I am low.

Love & hugs to you all & prayers for Rosa who is going cold turkey with her cure & I know she will improve when she returns home to Nova Scotia.

Love Pam

maud · January 2002

Hi Pam, So good to hear from you and Happy New Year to you to.I will be praying that this will be a better year for you and that they will find a cure soon. May God Bless You Take Care Debbie

cruf · January 2002

Hi Pam! I'm so sorry you're having such a bad time. You are a very strong person and an inspiration to all of us! You can't quit now! You've been through too much to give into this BEAST> Keep up the hard work. It WILL payoff in the long run. You are in my thoughts and prayers constantly. Keep the faith! HUGS!! Cathy

sharon_buck · January 2002

Pam I have been slow at writing too. Not for your reasons I will keep you in my prayers as I do the others. Sharon

debw · January 2002

Hang in there. You will respond to treatment! For the mouth ulcers I used Ulcer Ease. Not sure if it is available in NZ. Med-Derm Pharm. is company name. As for the ice and snow in Idaho we are welcoming it to break our drought. I do remember the beautiful NZ summers. Love - Debw

cat1switzerland · January 2002

Dear Pam,

You are SO brave ! It takes a lot of courage to go back to treatment when you felt so sick from it. I hope all the side effects will diminish as your body is learning to accept this treatment. Have you read "Kitchen table wisdom", by Rachel Remen ? She talks about the help visualization can bring, and this confirms the studies of Dr Simonton, as well as those that appear in another book, "Remarkable recoveries". Visualization can help you through chemo. However here in Switzerland, I haven't heard about doctors using that technique to help patients . Is it different in your country ?

I hope you will have a lovely summer, here we have snow. All the trees and bushes looked as if they had been scuplted out of crystal today : it was so beautiful ! I felt I lived in a fairy land... (And then you spend half an hour scraping the car and you're late for work, and it doesn't seem so fairy anymore ! Ney, I truly don't care about that, it is a small price to pay for that beauty !)

Take good care, you are in my prayers.
With big hugs and love,
Cathy

judyd · January 2002

Hi Pam,
What a time you have had & as always you just keep going & continue to be an inspiration to us all. Pam, I will continue to keep you in my prayers each day as I always do. I pray for all the ladies on here fighting this battle but I always say an extra prayer for you & Rosa. Without you two I don't know what the rest of us would do. You are two of the bravest people & have kept the rest of us fighting. I wish you & your family the best in this new year.
Love,
Judy

bdean · January 2002

Dear Pam:
So sorry to hear about your bad side effects with Taxotere, but I was not surprised. I took 6 doses and was so sick I thought I would die, and told my oncologist that very fact. - He finally believed me and put me on Taxol; and although it has bone pain and other side effects - they were a walk in the park compared to the Taxotere. Maybe you will be able to tolerate it and will be rewarded for your efforts. I will pray for you that God will continue to give you the strength and faith you need to fight this monster.
I did get a good report from my CT scan I had on Tuesday. I cannot praise and thank God enough for having mercy, and will continue to pray that you will too. I know how difficult it is to totally put everything into His hands - then being completely willing to accept whatever burden you must bear for His namesake, so that through you His works can be manifested here on earth. If I am to die of cancer or whatever - then I am willing to do so if it be His will; because I know He will be with me through it all. I just pray my heart can be filled with more of His love for as long as He needs be here, because as long as I have him, I can make it through. - 'Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou are with me.'
Prayers and hugs,
Brenda

sueholm · January 2002

Pam...I'm not here often because the posts just take soooooooooo long to load on my puter, but I always do look for your last message, and rosa's too. I read with horror about your treatments,but felt this overwhelming urge to give you a push along, to help you fight, to encourage you to keep your spirits up, to try all sorts of things, if you can stomach them, until the docs find that one thing that will have an impact for you. To hell with a cure, Pam, just let them find something that will give you some quality of life! I am rooting so hard for you here in Canada...Susan

pamtriggs · January 2002

bdean said:
Dear Pam:
So sorry to hear about your bad side effects with Taxotere, but I was not surprised. I took 6 doses and was so sick I thought I would die, and told my oncologist that very fact. - He finally believed me and put me on Taxol; and although it has bone pain and other side effects - they were a walk in the park compared to the Taxotere. Maybe you will be able to tolerate it and will be rewarded for your efforts. I will pray for you that God will continue to give you the strength and faith you need to fight this monster.
I did get a good report from my CT scan I had on Tuesday. I cannot praise and thank God enough for having mercy, and will continue to pray that you will too. I know how difficult it is to totally put everything into His hands - then being completely willing to accept whatever burden you must bear for His namesake, so that through you His works can be manifested here on earth. If I am to die of cancer or whatever - then I am willing to do so if it be His will; because I know He will be with me through it all. I just pray my heart can be filled with more of His love for as long as He needs be here, because as long as I have him, I can make it through. - 'Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou are with me.'
Prayers and hugs,
Brenda

DEar Brenda

So glad your scan was good. When I hear of this I am full of hope as you have mets the same stage as me with similar treatment so I know there is a chance for me to have some time & quality of life. Just a chance is all I ask for & you have given me that hope. God bless you for that. Lets drink to continuing good scans. Love & hugs

Pam

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